We woke up and headed to Fox Glacier, stopping first at a little place called Wanaka for our cheese and crisp sandwiches. It's quite a pretty town, with another beautiful lake in it. the highlight of the town though was visiting Puzzling World! It's a little centre with an illusions room and a maze! We had fun for a few hours getting lost and trying to undo knots and things.
We arrived in the township of Fox Glacier, which is tiny, and were pleasantly surprised by our hostel room. we had our own bathroom and kitchen area, tv and dvd player and were the only people in the room! We had booked a dorm room so didn't quite understand why we were in this one but we werent going to complain! We spent the night in bed watching dvds!
In the morning we headed to the small airfield where we were to depart for the sky! It was a really small plane so only 2 could go up at a time. Vickie was brave and went first with a Scottish guy while Rach and Luce waited in fear in the office. The plane came back before Vik did as the landing site is a while away so after getting into their sexy body suits Luce and Rach headed into the plane. We were strapped to our instructers and squashed in. We were extremely cosy to say the least, squashed between their legs, but at least we felt safe! As we began to climb our fear began to leave us as we took in the amazing view on the 20 minute ride into the clouds. We had the glacier on one side and Mt Cook and Mt Tasmin on the other, NZ's 2 highest mountains. The plane ride in itself was amazing! Once we reached 12000 feet it was time to go! Rach was by the door so she jumped first. It was amazing, 45 seconds of freefall and then about 4 minutes with the parachute up in which everything goes silent and you float down taking in breathtaking views of the land. We all loved i although it was over way too quickly. Vik was ready on the ground to meet us, camera at the ready! A car drove us back to base where we sadly took off our amazing outfits. We met 2 irish guys who had jumped before us and were heading back to Franz Josef which was where we were heading so we offered them a lift.
On the way we stopped at lake Matherson, one of the most pictured lakes in Nz with amazing reflections! So clear! We had a short walk round the lake and took some cool photos before heading off again. Another beautiful lake, very green and lush.
We also stopped at Gillespies beach and had a walk along it. An odd beach where someone had been making weird figures and pictures out of stones. Loads of bloody sand flies which are the most annoying things ever!
From here we traveled about 25mins up the road to Franz Joesf Glacier which we were to hike the next day!
*Additional taxes/fees: sample fares posted on www.statravel.com are per person and include the booking fee. Fares are subject to additional charges including, but not limited to: September 11th Security Fee of up to $5.00 for each flight segment originating at a U.S. airport; Passenger Facility Charges of up to $18, depending on itinerary; Federal Segment Fees of $3.50 per segment; and foreign and U.S. Government-imposed charges of up to $400 per international round-trip flight, depending on routing and destination. STA Travel is the world's largest student, youth and budget travel organization specializing in cheap flights, hotels and hostels, student travel insurance, and the International Student ID Card (ISIC).
© 2009 - STA Travel, Inc.
